This ad showing a woman being brutally beaten in the street is actually about sheep

A woman wearing a wool sweater walks down the street, minding her own business.

Suddenly, she is set upon by a passerby, who beats her unconscious.

He rips off her sweater and runs off. Passersby notice what's unfolding, but don't offer to come to the woman's aid.

This brutal ad sounds like it might be raising awareness of street violence, but it's actually all about the plight of sheep in shearing sheds.

Non-profit animal rights organization PETA is behind the video, which cuts to scenes from some of its documentary films — disturbing footage depicting the violent treatment of sheep in the wool industry.

In a press release, PETA says: "This scene is eerily reminiscent of what takes place every day in sheep-shearing sheds around the world. PETA's international exposés of shearing sheds and ranches in Australia, South America, and the U.S. have revealed that workers punch, throw, and severely mutilate sheep in shearing sheds, behavior that is normal in the industry, as workers are typically paid by volume rather than by the hour, encouraging rough work with little regard for the animals' welfare."